Gonzo is a set up against Almagro. :clap:

And Willy Canas is also a set up against Calleri, so it looks like we'll get a mouthwatering Fed-Canas rematch tomorrow. :ok:

Other matches on today:

M Baghdatis (CYP) vs [2] R Nadal (ESP)
F Verdasco (ESP) vs [3] N Djokovic (SRB)
[6] J Blake (USA) vs M Ancic (CRO)
[WC] F Lopez (ESP) vs [7] D Ferrer (ESP)
[8] T Robredo (ESP) vs [WC] J Del Potro (ARG)
D Nalbandian (ARG) vs [9] T Berdych (CZE)
P Mathieu (FRA) vs [10] R Gasquet (FRA)
[12] I Ljubicic (CRO) vs [Q] S Koubek (AUT)
[14] C Moya (ESP) vs J Ferrero (ESP)
N Kiefer (GER) vs [16] M Youzhny (RUS)
[LL] O Hernandez (ESP) vs I Karlovic (CRO)


Lots of interesting matches here. My highlights are Baggy v Nadal, Blake v Ancic and Nalby v Berdych.

Today's order of play

I spoke too soon! Calleri has forced a third set!

Meanwhile, Gonzo has match points at 6-5 in the second - and he's done it. :clap:

I think your highlights are all spot on there MJT :ok: Ancic vs. Blake could be very interesting. And let's hope that Baggy is in good form against Nadal :pray: (with Nadal winning a tight 3-setter 'cos i want him to play Murray ;) )

Lopez-Ferrer and Hernandez-Karlovic on next.

So do I!

But then, I also want Baggy to do well --- and a win against Nadal in Madrid might give him some confidence. :unsure:

I think I'll be neutral on this one - I just want it to be a good match!

If Ferrer reaches the semis here - and there is no reason why he shouldn't if he plays well - then he would overtake Roddick as No. 5 in the race.

And good news for Bjorkmirnyi - Damm and Paes have been knocked out in the doubles! :o

Canas facing break point here early in the third ... and Calleri takes it to go 2-1 up!

I really wanted to see a Fed-Canas rematch ... so get off your ar$e, Willy! :angry:

Apparently Fed has never played Calleri - which is interesting, considering Calleri has been around such a long time - he's older than me! :o

Ancic, Kiefer or Ferrero to pull off the upsets :pray: :pray:

and a trickier than it looks 2nd Rnd. tussle for Gasquet v. Mathieu :unsure:

my money is on Canas..

Had to go away and do some work ... in the meantime

- Canas defeated Calleri 7-5 in the third, and will now play the Fedster!

- Lopez took out Ferrer! :o

- Karlovic hit 20 aces to defeat Lucky Loser Hernandez.

- Nalby lost the first set against Berdych, but won the second. Are we seeing yet another win from behind from the Argentine, or will Tomas remember that he is chasing valuable points for Shanghai, and take out The Donut Man in three?

:rolleyes: Ferrer must be feeling like crap... I guess he now has to watch closely how everyone else does.....vis-a-vis..the race points to shanghai.. cause it is really a tight jam down there...

Hard-fought match it seems between Moya and Ferrero.

Four break points already - two each, but only Moya was able to convert. However, here's another break point for Ferrero - and he does it; levelling at 2-2.

Berdych is serving first in the third set against Nalby. So far it's on serve - with Nalby serving to make it 2-2.

Well, Ferrer really is as good as qualified for Shanghai, barring some *big* surprises. He is almost a hundred points ahead of Gonzo (81 to be precise).

Maybe if three or four of the contenders below him reach the semis, he should become nervous ... but not yet, I reckon.

Still, here was his chance of making his participation crystal-clear - now he may need to produce a good result in Paris.

Nalby serving to stay in the match ... go Tomas!

Nalby makes it 5 all.

MJT..What do you call in the Fed-Canas match?

Shall we take any bets on what you call chet? :P

Btw, congrats on your 1000th post :cheers:

I think Canas' form has dipped in the last couple of months, and Federer is unlikely to underestimate him again (although I said that after the first time Canas beat him :doh: ) Fed's form hasn't been perfect recently - I think MJT mentioned that Fed is still making a lot of errors on his forehand side - anyone know whether he's sorted out his first serve % yet? :shrug:

I'll say Fed - but i think it'll be a good match no matter what :ok:

Well chet, you know that I'm a Fed fan, so I've got to go with my man ...

From his interviews, it looks to me as if Roger is well up for this; I think he feels he ought to have won in Miami. I am fairly confident that he will win.

However, his game doesn't match up well with Canas's, so this is properly a tougher match than many others he could have had at this stage.

I am going to go with Roger in two, but I wouldn't be completely surprised if Canas takes a set. He may even make it very close, but I really can't see (and don't want to see :) ) Fed losing this one.

I imagine you'll be cheering on the other side of the court for this one. :P :)

Thanks DJ. Wow didn't know I posted so much. Barely have time at work.

I am going for a tought three setter no matter who the winner is. I've noticed that if Fed loses to someone, the next time he plays them, his confidence is extremely low (saw that at the USO final).
Canas will stick to his gameplan of moonballing. Fed better watchout.

I am more interested in the Murray - Nadal match tomorrow though. The AO match was fantastic.

hasn't Nadal got to beat Baggy first? :blink:

Tie-break in the Nalbandian-Berdych match. :yikes:

Neither player had a break point in the third set. This does smell like one of Nalbandian's classic from-behind victories ... but I do hope that Tomas manages to pull it off in the breaker!

Re: Fed's first-serve percentage; I think it was fine in yesterday's match - I think it's 63%. Anyway, both his serves were working well, winning 80% of first serve points and nearly 70% on his second, so I would say his serve is working pretty well.

He didn't sound absolutely thrilled with his game after yesterday's match in the interview, even though it was working pretty well overall, so I imagine he will try to step it up another notch against Willy tomorrow.

Nalby with the mini-break :yikes:

Moya broke Ferrero for 6-5 :o

Every time I looked at the score in this match, it was at deuce or advantage --- did any of their service games *not* go to deuce?

DJ
Nadal has never lost to Baggy. He should get thru this comfortably. Plus he'll be motivated to do well in his home country and not go out in the first match itself.

MJT
I think Fed had some 30 plus UEs in the match yesterday which is quite high for his standards. He has to cut this down tomorrow. Anyway two good matches in the offing.

Nalby won 7-6 in the third set :(

And whatd'ya know ... Nalby takes the tie-break 7-2. :doh:

Ferrero breaks back, and we've got a first set tie-break in that match.

:cry:

bugger.

:cry:

Chet, I'm sure you're right and Nadal will get past Baggy, but there's such a thing as counting chickens you know :P

Pity. I would have liked to see Berdych play Nadal or Murray in the quarters. Now it'll probably be Robredo ... :yawn:

Ferrero in control in the tie-break, with 4 set points - and he takes it 7-2

A bit one-sided at the end of a first set that saw 14 break points, and 4 breaks of serve. :o

:( there was a time when you could count on juan carlos.... and people used to be so scared of him.... the mosquito ..I remember calling him......

JCF looks to have broken Moya again :( I like Moya :unsure:

if Ferrero pulls this one out it would be his first win over Moya since the 02 season ender...c'mon JCF :clap: :clap:

there was a time that you could count on Ferrero and Safin for that matter. those days are no more :(

3 MPs :blink:

sweet win for JCF :clap: :clap: :clap:

he'll have to be in tough v. (probably) djokovic or verdasco for that matter. this is where counting on JC gets patchy as of late :unsure:

Good win for Ferrero.

I see Mathieu-Gasquet is at 7-7 in the first set tiebreak. Gasquet, it seems, didn't face any break points in the set, but couldn't convert any of his four either.

Djokovic just saved a break point against Verdasco early in the first.

I just realized that Berdych was up 4-0 in the second set against Nalbandian? :o :yikes:

How could he squander that lead?????

Mathieu takes the first 10-8 in the tie-break! :yikes:

oh mon dieu :o